Senegal

Market Overview

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Business environment

In the past year, Senegal’s business environment has evolved significantly with the adoption of the new Investment Code (Law No. 2025-16) in September 2025. This reform modernises incentives, strengthens investor protection, and introduces the digitalisation of administrative procedures. At the same time, reforms of the tax and customs systems are underway to simplify regulations, broaden the tax base, and adapt the legal framework to digital and international trade.

Senegal offers strong advantages as a business location, including political stability, a strategic position in West Africa, and membership in regional organisations such as OHADA, ECOWAS, and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union), which ensure legal harmonisation and access to a large regional market.

Companies can operate through several business structures governed by OHADA law, mainly the SARL, SA, and SAS (which may be a sole proprietorship), as well as branches of foreign companies. Investments are generally made by incorporating a local company or opening a branch and registering through the one-stop shop managed by APIX, which facilitates administrative procedures and access to investment incentives.

Economy

Currency strength

Senegal uses the CFA franc (XOF), a stable regional currency issued by the Central Bank of West African States and shared within West African Economic and Monetary Union. The currency is pegged to the euro, which ensures monetary stability and relatively low exchange-rate volatility for investors.

Inflation rates

Inflation in Senegal remains relatively low compared with many African economies. In 2025–2026, inflation has generally fluctuated around 2%, with some recent data showing levels close to 0.4% in early 2026, reflecting easing food and energy prices.

Main trade sectors

Senegal’s economy is driven by several key sectors, notably mining (gold and phosphates), oil and gas, fisheries, agriculture, and construction materials such as cement. In recent years, exports have increasingly been supported by gold and petroleum products, while imports remain dominated by fuel, machinery, and manufactured goods.

These sectors, combined with infrastructure development and energy projects, position Senegal as one of the fastest-growing economies in West Africa.

 

Current opportunities & future prospects

Senegal offers significant opportunities for investors, particularly in energy, infrastructure, mining, agribusiness, and digital technology. The recent development of offshore oil and gas resources and the government’s strong focus on infrastructure projects have created new prospects for financing, project development, construction and public-private partnerships under the 2021 PPP framework. These sectors are supported by the new Investment Code adopted in 2025, which aims to attract foreign capital and facilitate large-scale projects.

Investors may also find opportunities in sectors linked to the country’s growing and increasingly urbanised population, such as telecommunications, fintech, consumer goods, microfinance and logistics. Senegal’s ambition to become a regional technology hub, combined with ongoing digitalisation of public administration and justice, is likely to generate further demand for innovative services and investment in the digital economy.

Finally, Senegal’s integration within regional organisations such as OHADA, WAEMU, and ECOWAS provides investors with access to a broader West African market and a harmonised legal framework. Combined with ongoing infrastructure development and increasing foreign investment interest, these factors position Senegal as a strategic gateway for business expansion across the region.

Legal system

Senegal’s legal system is based on the civil law tradition inherited from French law and is strongly influenced by regional legal frameworks. Business law is largely harmonised through OHADA, which provides uniform rules governing commercial companies, securities, insolvency proceedings, and arbitration across its member states. Senegal is also part of WAEMU, which harmonises monetary, banking, and certain fiscal regulations within the region.

For investors, this framework offers a relatively predictable legal environment, supported by specialised commercial courts and the possibility of international arbitration. However, clients should remain mindful of certain practical aspects when doing business in Senegal, such as compliance with administrative procedures, local content requirements in strategic sectors, and currency regulations linked to the regional monetary system. Partnering with experienced local counsel is often essential to navigate regulatory processes and ensure compliance with both national and regional rules.

Alongside the community legal frameworks of OHADA and WAEMU, Senegal has adopted and codified numerous laws (Petroleum Code, Gas Code, Electronic Communications Code, Mining Code, General Tax Code, Urban Planning Code, Construction Code, Customs Code, etc.) to provide foreign investors with clear legal frameworks ensuring compliance with their activities in the country.

Foreign investment restrictions

Regulatory environment

Senegal maintains a generally open and investor-friendly regulatory framework. Foreign investment is governed primarily by the new Investment Code (Law No. 2025-16), which guarantees key principles such as equality of treatment between domestic and foreign investors, protection against expropriation, and the freedom to transfer capital and profits. The legal environment is also shaped by regional regulations adopted within OHADA and WAEMU in particular, Regulation No. 06/2024/CM/WAEMU, which modernises and harmonises the legal framework for financial and commercial activities in the region, including Senegal and Regulation No. 06/2024 focuses on the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Direct investment

Foreign investors can, subject to the completion of a few administrative formalities, freely establish companies, acquire shares in Senegalese companies, or open branches and representative offices. Administrative procedures are generally carried out through the one-stop shop operated by APIX, which facilitates company registration and access to investment incentives.

Restrictions on foreign capital

There are generally no major restrictions on foreign ownership in most sectors. However, certain strategic industries—particularly natural resources, energy, or sectors subject to local content regulations—may require compliance with specific licensing procedures or encourage participation of local partners.

Foreign exchange controls

As a member of the West African monetary union, Senegal applies regional exchange regulations overseen by the Central Bank. While capital transfers related to investments are permitted, companies must comply with reporting and repatriation requirements for export revenues and financial transactions in accordance with WAEMU banking and foreign exchange regulations.

Top tips to takeaway "What to know before Investing

Before investing in Senegal, clients should be aware that the country offers a stable and increasingly modernised legal and economic environment, supported by recent reforms such as the 2025 Investment Code, which strengthens investor protection and simplifies administrative procedures through digitalisation.

Senegal benefits from regional legal harmonisation and access to a large West African market through organisations such as OHADA, WAEMU and ECOWAS. This framework provides legal predictability but also requires compliance with regional monetary and regulatory rules.

Investors should also anticipate sector-specific regulations, particularly in strategic industries such as energy, oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure, where local content requirements and licensing procedures may apply. Working with reliable local partners and advisors is therefore essential to navigate administrative processes and regulatory obligations.

Finally, Senegal’s sustained economic growth, ongoing infrastructure development, and expansion of the energy sector create significant opportunities for foreign investors, particularly in projects involving public-private partnerships, infrastructure financing, and large-scale energy and natural resource developments.

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Impact of the U.S. Government’s suspension of international aid on implementation partners in Senegal

From the early days of his mandate, President Donald Trump decided, by decree, to suspend foreign development aid for the duration of a budget review ("Stop Work Order").On January 24, 2025, the State Department ordered all American government agencies, including USAID, to stop working on international aid programs and to freeze expenditures for a review period of eighty-five (85) days.   The following summarizes key Senegalese labor law provisions that may offer solutions to addressing employee status concerns related to the stop order.  For information, please check our website and LinkedIn. Solutions for Workers with Employee Status Considering placing staff on technical unemployment (1), terminating the trial period, or at the limit, negotiating departures (2) seem more interesting and less risky. Technical Unemployment When a company or structure employing people is in a conjunctural challenge, Article L 65 of the Labor Code permits the company to place all or part of the personnel (under CDD or CDI) on technical unemployment, subject to compliance with the rules organizing its procedure. Therefore, for the agencies impacted by the government’s decision, technical unemployment could well be an option under the provisions of the Senegalese Labor Code, particularly the aforementioned article, and the duration provided for the suspension of international aid (85 days), for the agencies impacted by the government's decision. Termination during the probation period Article 23 of the National Interprofessional Collective Agreement provides each party the right to terminate the contract without compensation or notice. It is important to understand that the probation period is particularly regulated under Senegalese labor law, so it is necessary to ensure full compliance with the legal provisions before considering it. Mutual separation  According to Article L 64 of the Labor Code, the employer and the worker(s) can, through an amicable termination protocol, negotiate freely and fairly. Solution for Service Provider  Service providers do not have employee status. They are governed by the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Obligations Code (COCC). The concerned American agencies will have the possibility to negotiate an amendment with them to suspend their contract during the period provided under the stop order, or to explore the possibility of terminating their contract due to the Stop Work Order considered as a force majeure event. Finally, in the face of the American government's decision to suspend international aid, development agencies in Senegal are confronted with a situational challenge but have interesting temporary solutions, notably technical unemployment. If the suspension becomes definitive at the end of this 85-day period, they can consider economic layoffs or negotiated departures. Yankhoba NDIAYE, Lawyer, Partner Employment & Immigration, and Ousmane Aliou LY, PhD, Associate Employment & Immigration are part of our Employment and Immigration Practice. We have accompanied several companies and entities in the implementation of these solutions, ensuring compliance with legal procedures and minimizing risks for the employer. Contact us to benefit from our expertise and personalized assistance.
GENI & KEBE - February 11 2025